Saturday, June 18

Amarillo to Tucumcari

Athena Ransom and Vivian Gypsy Charros worked on my bike till 4 in the morning to get me back on the road. Athena sent me to bed around 1 a.m., and I woke up about 7. I called her as instructed and they came down to tell me the bike was basically ready for a test ride.

Tricia Szulewski tailed me and we did a nice little loop. Bike ran great! Those ladies crushed it and got me back up and running. SO grateful….

So my antique posse and I set off to see Cadillac Ranch. I saw a nice opening to roll our bikes into where we could get the Cadillacs in the background, so we lined up really nice and took some photos. Then we went down to the cars and took some more photos. Once we got back to the bikes, Jenny’s husband Eric noticed my rear tire was flat. Fuck.

Jason Sims and Jose Torres had just left, so I had to ask them to turn around and come back.

We hauled the bike to Tripp HD where they fixed my tire. By this time, it was after 1 and we were starving, so we ate lunch, got gas, and then headed toward Tucumcari.

We passed the mid point of Route 66 in Adrian, TX! It seems like I’ve been on the road for a month! Our departure from Milwaukee seems like a very long time ago.

We weren’t that far out of Adrian when Jenny and Sharon Panhead saw my bike smoking. They signaled to me and we pulled to the side of the road. I shut it off and oil was still dripping freely from my motor onto the ground. It finally stopped but not before I got that sinking feeling.

The sweep truck was 50 miles ahead of us since they needed to be at the shop in Tucumcari where we were doing oil changes, so Jenny called her husband Eric who came back for us.

Not sure HOW….but we shoved my bike into his van where his bike was already loaded, and he drove me and my very cranky bike to the shop in Tucumcari.

Again Athena and Gypsy descended on the bike and figured out a few things that weren’t right. It was a long evening, but by 9:45 my bike was ready to ride. I cannot say enough about everyone supporting us on this ride.

Friday June 17, Part One

Two of our chix, KA Miller and Judy Jacob, who couldn’t make the ride itself came by the hotel last night to meet up, and then stopped in again this morning.

Last night they brought a pick-a-nic basket full of goodies…. and a bottle of Patron. Wonderful way to cap off a fun but somewhat disappointing day. I was really hoping to be on my bike today, but it’s all forward motion.

Judy is local and put me on to a local motorcycle shop that she said would likely have my ignition. They didn’t open till 9 a.m., so I called at 9, and he had the ignition. Fabulous! So I hopped in the man van with Jason Sims and Jose Torres, and we headed out. Kiersten and Judy headed to the shop, got the ignition and met us further down the road.

With luck, my bike will run tonight.

Who DOES that? Go fetch a part and intercept down the road to make sure I keep going?! So grateful and humbled to be part of this motorcycle community….

Meanwhile I’m doing the man van tour of Route 66!

Friday June 17 Oklahoma City to Amarillo Part Two

While we are waiting for the ignition verdict, I will share all the great photos I took today whilst riding in the man van. It was a great day for Route 66 sights!

Thursday June 16

Tulsa to Oklahoma City

I did this leg in the sweep truck, or as I call it, the “man van” with Jason Sims and Jose Torres. I really missed my little posse but knowing Athena Ransom had found that broken wire, I was very hopeful that I dodged a bullet and the ignition module was ok.

We stopped at Buck Atom’s and the Golden Driller on the way out of Tulsa, and met up with Rhys Martin of the OK Route 66 Association who took some photos of us as well.

Another stop at Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum and then to the hotel.

Athena and Gypsy were on my bike first thing and topped off my oil, and repaired the broken wire. But…. no go. It really was the ignition module. Sumbitch.

This is where I just love motorcycle people. When you need something, all you have to do is ask. Once Athena, Gypsy and I discussed options, they suggested I go with a different ignition altogether, which I was fine with. So they speced out what I needed and I started trying to locate one.

Chris Possum Sawyer put out a call for me, and KA Miller was on hand with Judy Jacob and her husband. Judy is local, so they suggested a place to call in the morning.

We tried a couple other options as well.

So there’s hope I’ll be riding by Saturday now.

Friday I’m back in the man van again!

Wednesday June 15

Springfield to Tulsa

Another great day on the bike! My little posse of antique riders, Sharon Panhead, Cindy Mesmer and Jenny Bass hit a real groove today. We stopped at the Gay Parita for photos and souvenirs, but we were really enjoying the road.

We stopped at Cars on the Route in Galena for lunch. Great little burger and fries from a one-woman show! About 50 miles outside Tulsa, we stopped for gas, and I noticed Sharon’s rear tire was alarmingly low. Turns out her valve stem was leaking – it looked slashed, and from the massively fast leak, it had just happened.

She found a tire place to repair it, so off with the saddlebags and the rear bag support, flip up the fender, out with the tire. While she was getting that repaired, we tightened up her saddlebag hardware and checked everything else on her rear fender. We had to replace one of her rear fender bolts as well.

Once Jenny and Sharon got back with the tire, Jason Sims got it back on the bike and we were rolling! Whee!

I had arranged to meet up with one of my Boykin friends JoAnn Calhoun and her sweet boy Lou Bear, so I was happy to get back on the road.

But…. 4 miles down the road I lost power. Nothing. My motor just shut off. After a quick check, no spark. Sumbitch. It was getting late, we had people waiting for us at the hotel and so was JoAnn and Lou Bear. I was 99% sure it was the ignition module so we just loaded it up on the trailer and kept going.

We got to the hotel, I got to meet JoAnn and Lou Bear, who is just so sweet!!! Then Greg Lew , Anna Weinschenk and Cindy Whitton put on a really nice spread for us at the hotel. Great ending to a great day!

After some diagnosis, Athena Ransom found that my main wire to the coil had moved around and been sawed almost in half by my oil tank trim. Vivian Gypsy Charros and Athena had multiple bikes to service and repair, and I told them to get to me last because we need to keep those bikes on the road. I could wait. So we didn’t know the problem till maybe midnight. Way too late to do the repair so I just rode with Jason and Jose Torres the next day, planning to fix the wire that night.

Tuesday, June 14 St. Louis to Springfield

This was a beautiful ride! It wasn’t quite as blazing hot, and the roads went through lush green rolling hills with far more shade than the day before. We stopped in Cuba, MO for lunch, and of course the requisite stop at Uranus Fudge Factory. We indulged in air conditioning, cold drinks and sugar, and then Marjorie Kleiman took us all to the side show museum.

Then we beat feet to Springfield where we had a special screening/presentation of Katrina Parks’ documentary on the women of Route 66. Shellee Graham was on hand to talk about the documentary and answer questions. Long day but fun. We settled in to the Best Western Rail Haven for the night. Classic mid-century motel that has been nicely upgraded for current travel needs.

Monday, June 13: Pontiac to St. Louis

Today we got an earlier start. Temps were in the high 90s with heat indexes over 100 degrees. It was a tough day physically, but we kept hydrated and took electrolyte tabs, and those really helped. Thanks Vicki Roberts-Sanfelipo for suggesting the tabs and Kathy Strobele for supplying the swag bags with several packets each. And Vivian Gypsy Charros for making sure everyone took care of themselves!! It takes a village…

The roads alternated between adequate and rough, so we had to keep a pretty slow pace. At a certain point we ended up hopping on the highway to get into St. Louis because we had peoples waiting for us. The Gateway Chapter of the AMCA put on a welcome party for us at Schlafly Brew House. Got to chat with Chris Possum Sawyer and Stephanie aka missus Possum!

Tricia Szulewski and Kelly Biggs from WRN rode with us today and they got some great shots of us on our old iron.

We stayed at the Magnolia Hotel downtown, and if you have never stayed there, DO IT. Those folks rolled out the carpet for us. They blocked off a specific area for us to park, and they gave us a 24 hour security guard for our bikes.

It was a beautiful place to end the day.

Sunday, June 12: Chicago to Pontiac

This is day one of the actual Route 66 ride. Easy day – 100 miles to Pontiac, IL. Leaving the city on a Sunday morning was a easy peasy – no traffic to speak of – I suppose the throng of night people who jammed up the roads the previous evening were still lounging in their beds when we rumbled by.

We stopped at the Launching Pad for lunch and a snap with the Gemini Giant, made some other stops for photos, and then rolled into Pontiac where there was a band and people waiting to welcome us. Really fun day!

Saturday June 11th – Milwaukee: It’s finally the day! Kickstands up on the Chix on 66 – 2022 event. Milwaukee to Chicago down Route 66 to Santa Monica…. so it begins…

We have been planning this event for a year, so it was a bit surreal when it actually happened. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel, but I didn’t expect to feel numb. It was a very strange, but actually welcomed feeling I suppose since there was so much going on – photos, conversations, excitement, nerves, some effort to appear organized and finally it was time. A little after 1 p.m., we saddled up, left the museum, said goodbye to Milwaukee, and headed south along the lake to Chicago. Many took the lake route – a few took highway. My group took the lake route. We went through Racine and then as we got into the Chicago area, our path along Sheridan lead us through miles of beautiful mansions. Old Chicago money!

Then we spilled out into a park which was a pleasant surprise.

Thanks to Stephanie Schreiber and KA Miller for providing the routes for this leg.

The last 8 miles were a bit hairy. Heavy city traffic translated to hot motors. In retrospect, I probably should have pulled us over to let the bikes cool down, but we forged ahead. Sharon Panhead pulled over because her oil light went on. Turns out her filter was plugged, and some of the oil came out the top and got on her rear tire. At that point she had a very jarring experience with the laws of physics and the effects of hot motor oil on a rear motorcycle tire.

Thank dog and all that’s holy, Sharon and her bike are fine. It was late by the time all the Chix gathered at the Ohio House Motel after our first day of riding.

I have no photos of my own from this day. These are from Jenny Bass/Bass Cycles, Jose Torres and Marjorie Kleiman.

Friday, June 10 – Milwaukee: Getting messages from a few Chix who had to drop out due to unforeseen situations. I am so sad. Everyone was so excited and looking forward to doing this ride, and we will very much miss those who couldn’t come with us.

Today was yet another whirlwind. Tech check revealed I needed my rear brake pedal further evaluated, my new chain needed adjusting again, and my throttle housing was slipping on the bar, so it needed a shim.

Instead of doing the things I’d planned to do this morning, I was off to Create Milwaukee to get my bike sorted. I got some of our planning committee to cover registration and fill in for me so I could take care of the bike.

I had to be back at the Museum at 11:30 to do an interview for the special collections.

After that, many other things and then our welcome dinner, hosted by the Harley-Davidson Museum.

Addendum: It turned out that there was nothing wrong with my rear brake – it was just floppy because the bushing is shot, but it is fully functional. The chain was slightly looser than it should have been but not a huge deal. We did shim the throttle housing, but when I got home after the trip, I shimmed it differently and it’s not slipping now.

Holy moly! I have not posted in a week!! So I guess there’s a lot to report retrospectively…

Thursday, June 9: My 24-hour travel odyssey ended as I landed in MKE at 8:45 a.m. Kathy Strobele landed not long after, and my buddy Tom Hinderholtz gave us a lift to Create Milwaukee where our bikes and all the swag supplies had been stashed since the previous weekend.

We checked in to the hotel and headed for the Museum, at which point it felt like I was drinking from a fire hose. That feeling really hasn’t stopped…

It was a busy day with bike tech and registration, meeting all the Chix, answering questions, putting last minute details together and essentially trying to make a mad scramble look organized!

Kathy and I ate a late lunch at a place called Fuel. Best burger ever, especially since we were ravenous!

Fell into bed exhausted and pleased that things seem to be coming together.